Scar. On the farther side of the Grasmere Vale are Ullscarf, Sergeant Man, Silver Howe, Pavey Ark, and then the unmistakable Langdale Pikes. The white streak to the right of Silver Howe is Sour Milk Force. Beyond Loughrigg are Lingmoor, Pike O'Blisco, Crinkle Crags, Scawfell, Bow Fell, and Great End; with Scawfell Pike peeping over Bow Fell, a little to the right of the summit. On the left of the Wrynose Pass depression are the Carrs, Wetherlam, Coniston Old Man, and Black Combe, with the lower heights of Oxenfell and the Furness Fells in front.

Ascent of Loughrigg Fell (1101).—Loughrigg Fell will in all probability be a favourite resort of those who remain for any length of time at Ambleside. It has a fine long uneven top, covered with gorse and rocky hillocks, and commands most enchanting prospects, which are ever varying as the pedestrian rambles in perfect seclusion from point to point. The highest peak is the part of the mountain farthest from Ambleside, which overlooks Red Bank and Grasmere. There are many ways of ascent. The three best are from Clappersgate, Loughrigg Brow, and Fox Gill. At Clappersgate a path runs up the hill from a point in the village nearly opposite Brathay Bridge. The Fox Gill ascent is commenced just behind Fox Howe. The route by Loughrigg Brow is the most direct. A path will be found mounting the hill behind the mansion, which is perched so conspicuously on a rocky knoll by the side of Loughrigg. It passes a farm-house, and then enters the open fell. Arrived at this point the tourist will prefer rambling and picking his way to the tops of the different rocky knobs, where he may one minute obtain a view of Windermere, and the next, by slightly changing his position, see the Langdale Vale, or Grasmere and Rydal Water.

For a description of the view from the highest point, see page 85.

Circular Tour by Coniston, Furness Abbey, and Windermere Lake.-This is the cheapest excursion

in the Lake District. It enables a large extent of ground to be passed over quickly-ground which most tourists are anxious to hasten from to the more rugged scenery amongst the loftier mountains. The tickets are issued under conditions which will allow the tourist either to hurry over the ground, or to make a more lengthened stay. When properly explored, much of the comparatively level country in the Furness district is discovered to be very beautiful, and it contains many places of great interest.

Tickets, which are 11s. first class, and 8s. second class, for the whole tour, can be obtained at Ambleside, Bowness, Coniston, Lake Side, Furness Abbey, and Ulverston; and at a little difference in price they can also be had at any station on the Furness Railway, between Carnforth and Whitehaven. They are available for seven days, and the tourist is allowed to accomplish the whole journey in one day, or to break the journey as often as he likes during the week. If a ticket be taken, say, at Ambleside, it includes char-àbanc to Coniston, train thence to Furness Abbey, and to the Lake Side Station, at the foot of Windermere, and steamer up Windermere Lake.

The tourist might stay a night in Coniston, explore the Duddon or climb the Old Man, and resume the journey at Coniston or Broughton; stay again at Furness Abbey, or at any other station, and visit Barrow, Grange, and other places, then proceed to Lake Side; and so on during the whole round, only being careful to return to Ambleside within the seven days, or the ticket would be forfeited.

Of course when a détour is made, and ground is traversed which is out of the circuit, the ticket will be useless until the regular journey is resumed.

It is advisable to sail up Windermere Lake, and therefore let us suppose the journey to be commenced by taking the char-à-banc from Ambleside to Coniston. At Clappersgate, a village 1m. from Ambleside, and prettily situated at the foot of Loughrigg, the road

crosses the Brathay Bridge and passes through a wooded district at the head of Pull Wyke Bay. It then bends to the right and mounts a rising ground, allowing of fine retrospective views of Ambleside and the neighbouring mountains. 3m. from Ambleside, on the brow of the hill, is the Barn Gates Inn. From this point the road runs through a wild upland country, and commands a view of Hawkshead and Esthwaite Water. Presently Coniston Old Man, and Wetherlam appear, and the road descends steeply through ground thickly covered with timber. At one place a glimpse is caught of the whole of Coniston Lake. After passing Waterhead House, the residence of V. Marshall, Esq., which is surrounded by beautiful woods, the head of the lake is skirted, and the Waterhead Hotel is reached.

Coniston is sometimes entered from Ambleside by following the road for Little Langdale until within m. of Colwith Bridge. See page 20. After continuing for 2m. or 3m. along the base of Oxenfell, a descent is made into Yewdale, a beautiful cultivated glen, famous for its venerable yew. The heath-crowned crags surrounding this glen are strikingly beautiful. Tarn Hows, where a much-admired prospect is obtained, stands on the left. The opening into the Tilberthwaite Glen is left behind, and Coniston is reached after passing along the base of some picturesque cliffs.

The Waterhead Hotel is a first-class house. The Crown Hotel, a few hundred yards distant, is also large and comfortable.

Coniston Lake is 6m. long and m. broad. It is 147 feet above the sea, and its greatest depth is 164 feet. It abounds with trout and perch, and contains two islets, Peel Isle and Fir Isle. It is a lovely sheet of water when seen from some points of view, but to those who look at it from the western side only it will be rather disappointing. The three best stations are, at the foot of the lake, on its eastern side, and from near Tarn Hows. A steam gondola plies up and down the lake three times a day, and tourists are recommended not to relinquish

this charming excursion. The fares for the return journey are:-1st class, 1s. 6d.; 2nd class, 1s. Many persons will, no doubt, on seeing the presiding genius of the place, the Old Man mountain, desire to come here at some future time to explore some of the recesses of his weather-beaten sides. Those who can spare a few days are recommended to break the journey, and, before proceeding, climb the Old Man, Wetherlam, and Black Combe, and walk up the Duddon Valley.

Furness Abbey.-Tourists generally take the train for Furness Abbey after remaining an hour at Coniston. The railway between Coniston and Broughton passes through a dark heath-covered tract of country, which completely hides the lake. On leaving Broughton, the shore of the Duddon Estuary is skirted, and some limequarries, iron-ore mines, and furnaces, are passed before the train enters the charming dell in which the abbey is situated. The railway station, the hotel, and the abbey ruins, are close together. Everything is neat and comfortable, and made to correspond as much as possible with the character of the place. The Furness Abbey Hotel is an excellent house, fitted up in a style to harmonize with the surrounding associations. During the tourist season there are tables d'hôte at 2 P.M. and 6 P.M. Visitors are allowed free access to the grounds. The ruins, now the property of the Duke of Devonshire, are finer than any ruins in Britain, except Fountains Abbey, in Yorkshire. The abbey was founded in the reign of Henry I., 1127, by Stephen, Earl of Montaigne and Boulogne, afterwards king of England. The monks originally came from Savigny, in Normandy, and were of the Benedictine order, but afterwards became Cistercians. This abbey was a mother institution, having under it Calder Abbey, in Cumberland; Rushen Abbey, in the Isle of Man; Fermor Abbey, in Ireland; and Byland, near Malton, in Yorkshire; and five other monasteries. It was richly endowed by Stephen, and from time to time it received gifts from opulent persons resident in the neighbourhood. Extraordinary powers were conferred upon the

abbot, which were formally ratified by twelve English monarchs. He was a sort of king; both in civil and ecclesiastical rule he was supreme over the whole of the Furness district, extending from the Duddon to Windermere. For a period of 400 years the abbots succeeded one another in unlimited sway over this district, enjoying privileges conferred in no other part of the country. All the people were vassals, and all mesne lords did homage and fealty "to be true to them against all men, excepting the king." Every tenant was bound to furnish a man and horse fully equipped for the Border wars and for the protection of the coast.

Barrow. This busy, thriving town is situated 2m. from Furness Abbey. In 1871 it contained a population of 18,245, which has since increased to 40,000, and it stands on a peninsula where, in the early part of the present century, there was only one house. The discovery of iron ore in the Furness district has been the cause of this rapid change. Extensive steel works have been erected. Walney Island, 10m. in length, serves as a natural breakwater. Docks have been made, adapted for vessels of all sizes. Steamers sail almost daily for Ireland, and the Isle of Man. The principal hotels are the Imperial, Duke of Edinburgh, Royal, and Sun.

Peel Castle, now a ruin, which was built by the monks of Furness, stands on an island near Peel Pier. Ulverston is 7m. from Furness Abbey. It is an oldfashioned market town, the modern capital of Lower Furness. Population, 7607. Dalton was, at one period, the metropolis of the district. The principal hotels are the Sun, Queen, and Braddyll's Arms. Upon Hoad Hill, close to the town, has been erected a monument to the memory of Sir John Barrow, for many years Secretary to the Admiralty, and native of this town.

Swarth Moor Hall, 1m. from Ulverston, was formerly the residence of George Fox, the founder of the Society of Friends. A place of worship here, having over the door Fox's initials, and the date, 1688, was the first meeting-house erected by the Quakers.